2 players?

[Gopher's Ambition]

I was watching a 2 player Ikaruga replay... damn, that's awesome. The team tactics used are a thing of beauty.

That got me thinking... why isn't this done more often with other shmups?

Then I realized that shumups are usually never friendly toward two players. Either there's a chain system that requires one player to hit all the targets, or the game becomes too easy and there's nothing new for the players to do except waste everything as usual. The fact that the scores aren't usually combined is also annoying.


I'm just wondering if there are any 2 player friendly games. Are there any special 2 player tactics for any common shmups?

[mulletgeezer]

Salamander - the 2 ships can bump each other, and the 4 multiples are shared between them. This allows the special tactic of playing along with your "partner", then surprising them by ramming them into a solid object, stealing their multiples and laughing loudly at their misery for the rest of the game as they are unable to accumulate any real power

Seriously though, it seems to me most shmups have a 2P mode as a matter of tradition rather than because they are fun to play that way. 1943 allows players to share energy, forgotten worlds powers up the players weapons when they are in close proximity and i think Del said there was a special way to play Vimana in 2P, but i don't know of any recent shmups that use these kinds of features.

[FraGMarE]

Not sure if the arcade or Megadrive/Genesis versions do this, but on the TurboGrafx-16 version of Aeroblasters, if both players charge the special and release it at the same time, a lightning bolt thingy connects both of your ships which destroys pretty much anything it touches.

Also, in the arcade Raiden, if you're playing 2-player, and you shoot the other ship point blank, it makes little orbs of energy ricochet off and they do pretty significant damage, if i remember correctly. Not sure if Raiden II does this too.

I love playing shmups in 2-player co-op mode, even if there's no real incentive to play 2-player. It just seems to be more fun to me for some reason. Even if your partner isn't exactly a shmup god, you are effectively doubling your firepower, and if he/she dies, the obligatory trash-talking will ensue. Most of the time, scoring is out the window in 2p mode, and you're both just trying to blast everything to high hell... that may be why I find it so entertaining.

[ill6]

I remember playing Delta and whatever the other one was called on the C64 2 Player a long time ago; team tactics got you through.

[Shatterhand]

Also, in the arcade Raiden, if you're playing 2-player, and you shoot the other ship point blank, it makes little orbs of energy ricochet off and they do pretty significant damage, if i remember correctly. Not sure if Raiden II does this too.

I dunno if Raiden 2 does, but 3 does for sure.

[mulletgeezer]

I remember playing Delta and whatever the other one was called on the C64 2 Player a long time ago; team tactics got you through.

Delta is a one player game, but i assume the other game you refer to is Armalyte? That was pretty cool 2 Player - i remember it had lots of tight spaces and the ships could bump each other like salamander. Also there were the pods that made players invulnerable to pass through tricky parts. A great co-op game.

[Turrican]

Twinbee - from the first through the last one, offers plenty of two-player interaction. The most memorable was probably in Pop'n when you can ram enemies with your friend for massive damage!

Sexy Parodius also has some interesting combo attacks, which change according to the ships you've selected. Neat.

[BulletMagnet]

Sexy Parodius also has some interesting combo attacks, which change according to the ships you've selected. Neat.

IIRC Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius has something like that too.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Dogyuun yet, in that one you can combine with your partner's ship to power yourself up...of course, IIRC the player whose ship is "absorbed" by the other player pretty much loses control completely until the other player releases their ship or dies, so it's not exactly ideal for teamwork, heh heh.

Then, of course, there are Change Air Blade and the Twinkle Star Sprites games, though they're decidedly less cooperative.

[FraGMarE]

I don't think anyone's mentioned Dogyuun yet, in that one you can combine with your partner's ship to power yourself up...of course, IIRC the player whose ship is "absorbed" by the other player pretty much loses control completely until the other player releases their ship or dies, so it's not exactly ideal for teamwork, heh heh.

Sidearms (at least the arcade version) did something similar, I think. I remember reading about how you'd pick up that (@) looking icon, and you would merge with the 2p mech for added firepower... sad part is, i think only 1 player (the one who picked up the power-up?) would retain control over the merged mech. In single player mode, when you pick up the same power-up, the 2p mech just comes out of nowhere and merges with you. Maybe someone here could explain this further, as I've played the TG16 version more than any other, and sadly, it is only single player.

[Nate]

Darius Gaiden! Great co-op play!

[Andi]

Darius Gaiden! Great co-op play!

Except, they don't deal out any extra power ups for 2 players and you need all the power ups on one ship to stand a chance against the last few levels.

[Nate]

Yeah, so you play w/ someone who knows the game - mainly the enemy/boss patterns. And, don't be so stingy w/ the power-ups when your wingman dies; there's a lot of "You need that (get it)!" and "Don't get that bomb (I need it)!" going on. It's a testament to both your generosity and sense of efficiency. Albeit, Curious Chandellier and Storm Causer have a tendency to make you look like both the bride AND the best man.

[freddiebamboo]

Dangun feveron is an outstanding 2 player game, but I can't think of many others that haven't already been mentioned.

[FRO]

Also, in the arcade Raiden, if you're playing 2-player, and you shoot the other ship point blank, it makes little orbs of energy ricochet off and they do pretty significant damage, if i remember correctly. Not sure if Raiden II does this too.

I dunno if Raiden 2 does, but 3 does for sure.

Yes, Raiden 2 does this also.

[SAM]

IIRC, in SnS, SnS2 & SnS3 the players scores are combined.

[DEL]

mulletgeezer wrote;

and i think Del said there was a special way to play Vimana in 2P, but i don't know of any recent shmups that use these kinds of features.

Well, Vimana is one Toaplan game that didn't tame down the power of the player's shots in a 2-player game. The result is that 2 players with fast fingers can anihilate the game. Hence, KAC and I counter stopped Vimana on a 2 player game. After several hours we just left it.
As has been written on this thread, Konami did not make this error with Salamander, forcing you to share multiples.

[Damocles]

Surprising that no one has mentioned Strike Gunner.....well, considering the game, not so surprising. In 2-player mode you can combine ships. Not all that useful, but....*shrug*

[sven666]

raiden fighters series have special 2player modes, where otherwise unnatainable powers are gained, pretty cool

come to think of it really none of caves shooters are 2player friendly, kinda weak i just saw the doubleplay mushi replay and its a huge disadvantage scorewise to be two players in that game.
as is galuda, ketsui, ddp etc etc i wonder why they never made an effort to creat an interesting 2player mode?

[Kiken]

come to think of it really none of caves shooters are 2player friendly, kinda weak i just saw the doubleplay mushi replay and its a huge disadvantage scorewise to be two players in that game.
as is galuda, ketsui, ddp etc etc i wonder why they never made an effort to creat an interesting 2player mode?

Correct.

2-player simultaneous play in Cave shmups merely seems to be vestigial since the game design and balance are built around a single-player theme.

Most Psikyo and Konami shmups feature enough auto-rank to still be a solid challenge in 2-player (in fact, some Psikyo games can become quite brutal with 2 fully powered-up players). However, I would think that anything Raizing would become ludicrously difficult to SCC in 2-player (can you imagine the number of suicides required in a 2-player game of Battle Garegga to keep the rank manageable?).

[Shatterhand]

Does X2 supports simultaneous 2 players ?

After a certain level, single player already gives you an insane, ridiculous amount of firepower. I wonder if this doubles in 2 player mode (If indeed is supported, I can't remeber now)

[Kiken]

Does X2 supports simultaneous 2 players ?

After a certain level, single player already gives you an insane, ridiculous amount of firepower. I wonder if this doubles in 2 player mode (If indeed is supported, I can't remeber now)

Yes, the game is 2-player simultaneous. Yes, the firepower is doubled. Good luck finding your ship on screen amidst all that nonsense.

[Raidenfighter Kirkov]

Hi !

I enjoy the 2 coop player mode in most of the shmups.

Gigawing Generations offers a coop play mode (teamscore).

Greetings
RFK

[popawell]

2 Player = Cannon Fodder

Enough Said.

[Carmen]

PC game Tyrian had this wonderful thing where two players could 'latch' on to each other, and one player would do the flying, and the other the shooting. I always thought that was a little neat.